- History Research Group
- Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture
- Westminster Development Policy Network
About me
After a history degree at Cambridge (1984) I undertook my doctoral thesis on religion and politics in inter-war Britain at Queen Mary University of London, completing in 1989.
I then spent a year as a research fellow at the Institute of Contemporary British History, writing an award-winning bibliography of post-war Britain. From 1989 until 1999 I was Director of this Institute. I have been a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society since 1996. In 1999-2000 I was on a Fulbright scholarship as visiting professor of British history at Westminster College, Fulton Missouri.
On my return to the UK I taught history and politics at Queen Mary University of London until my appointment as Reader in History at Westminster in October 2012. I have been Professor of History and Policy at Westminster since November 2016.
I chair the University of Westminster Press editorial board. I also serve on the University's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and co-chair the staff Q+ network.
Outside Westminster I chair the George Lansbury Memorial Trust and AIDS Memory UK. I am also a board member at the Heritage of London Trust.
I have published extensively on religious, political, constitutional, diplomatic and social history and edit the journal National Identities. My current work largely focuses on safety and inclusion in public space.
I am transgender and my pronouns are she/her.
Teaching
I taught for Queen Mary University of London, Royal Holloway, Cass Business School, Drew University, Midwestern State University and Westminster College Missouri before my move to the University of Westminster in 2012. I also taught Public Policy for many years for the Hansard Society.
I teach on various undergraduate modules in Westminster, principally those on Protests and Transforming British Politics. I also teach on the MA in Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture and the MA in Religion, Law and Society.
I have extensive experience of PhD supervision, ranging from the US Civil War to the history of women's cricket. Current PhD supervision activity covers from religion and national identity, through trans health and law, to museums and coloniality. I am also supervising post-doctoral fellows working on Kim Philby and Northern Ireland and the British constitution.
I would welcome PhD students looking at the heritage issues, British constitutional history, the relationship between culture and politics from the 18th century onward or transgender histories.
Research
My recent research has focused upon an Arup-funded project on Queering Public Space. This has led to a grant from the Quintin Hogg Trust to conduct an EDI Audit of Westminster's campuses.
My next research will focus on statecraft and strategy and will result in various outputs, including a monograph with McGill/Queens University Press.
RECENT GRANTS
I am currently completing a research project with colleagues from Westminster International University in Tashkent on Mahalla and state-building in Uzbekistan.
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.